Sumit Dwivedi

My next friend in the section of 'Gehri Dosti' is Sumit Dwivedi.

Statutory Warning: This post might actually block your grey matter !!

Sumit is one friend of mine who everybody eagerly wanted to know about. But why??? Is he a prodigy or simply a misjudged IDIOT (Idiot now has a better meaning). Can totally catch you by surprise and makes sure that he himself is also assailed. He can dumbfound you by the preciseness of his preachings and at the same time your grey matter can indulge in a race against time to comprehend his illusions.

He has an answer to every question he is being asked and can answer even those questions which are unasked. The reason for which nobody knows or maybe nobody tries to understand. He is full of cliches and it is difficult to make out where his head and legs actually are.

Can come up with brain shattering theories and then dissolves the tadka of realism into it by saying 'Tumhari Kasam' to whoever he is interacting giving goosebumps to that poor guy!!!

One of his theory was so vituperative that it could have forced Amitabh Bachchan to commit suicide!!! Amitabh should be thanking Sumit for not making the theory at a public platform or else we would never have seen Amitabh acting in Paa.

An unconventional guy with uncanny looks and zany humour......but he is fun!!! Can have people around him in splits at the drop of a hat and has a sky towering self opinion. All said and done he is a good guy with no reservations. He can cook also and cooks pretty well.

No post about Sumit can ever be complete without mentioning about Rishabh. Well... Rishabh is Sumit's friend, philosopher, guide and all other similar phrases put together. The reason for this generosity????? Well, you will have to ask either Sumit or Rishabh. Kyun Rishabh???

His biggest strength is his bizzarity. It can actually catch you unawares and sometimes on the wrong foot. But most of the time he would have done it inadvertendly. At times he can rub you the wrong way but then will also amend it.

Has big dreams in his eyes and the will in his heart to cut across all hurdles that life may throw his way.

So Dost!! Good Luck to you in all your future endeavors.

Hint about my next friend:
The biggest hint that I can give is 'MICROSOFT EXCEL'

Karan Lokwani

My next friend in the section of 'Gehri Dosti' is Karan Lokwani.

If reincarnation actually exists then I am sure Che is reborn as Karan Lokwani. Both of them were instrumental in creating revolutions in their own right. Che initiated guerilla warfare on actual battle field and Karan made our entire college into a real time battle field.

I don't need to mention what I am talking about. But for some uninitiated people, I am talking about Master of Disaster (I think the name is enough to send chills down the spines of many). Yeah he is the guy who enkindled the passion of counter strike in our college and that passion which was a flame in its nascency has now turned into a full fledged fire.

Karan comes across as a small town simpleton but as they say appearances are always deceptive. The moment he opens his mouth, people are left flabbergasted at the astounding intelligence which seldom leaves people not bewildered!! A computer genius who has an incredible knowledge about the various complexities associated with any aspect of computers. During the first and the second semesters, he was the busiest soul during the IT exams when the entire hostel used to hustle and bustle into his room to get their doubts clarified. I was also a beneficiary.

Karan is a total video game freak and can play any game under the sun with equal excellence. He is a Champion Counter Strike player. For him Counter Strike is a way of life. He taught the entire hostel what CS was all about. He was the guy who had told me to try my hand at sniper if i am not able to get an aim. And Karan, it was because of that advice I am still stuck with sniper or Thak Thak as many people refer it to.

In the second semester, the situation had become so bad that even if we had exams at 10 in the morning we would be playing Counter Strike till atleast 6. We knew we would be screwing our exams but there are some things in life where profit or loss is not measured and CS was one of them. He had organized the Counter Strike tournament in our college which was a riproaring success. It was the first time that a CS tournament was organized in our college and it was possible due to the all out efforts put in by Karan.

He is an ennoble guy and his favorite song is 'Ya Ali Rehem Ali, Ya Ali'...... He has an assuaging smile which would break all the shackles of concern and misery. A magnanimous guy with tranquilizing mannerisms which would make any person interacting with him feel important. He is one guy whom people would love to confide all their huggers muggers and feel palliated that it would stay that way.

He is one guy whom maximum people in the college would start to miss after a couple of months as his popularity cuts across all the sections and genders of our college.

I am sure that I would never ever get to play CS once I finish my MBA and everytime I think about CS, I would invariably end up missing my friend Karan badly, very badly!!!

So Dost!! Good Luck to you in all your future endeavors.

Hint about my next friend:
Tumhari Kasam Hum Sach Keh Rahe Hain.......Kyun Rishabh???

Siddharth Jaithaliya

My next friend in the section of 'Gehri Dosti' is Siddharth Jaithaliya.

If there is one guy in our college who rose like a phoenix, then it is undoubtedly my friend Siddharth or Sid which we lovingly address him as.

He is one guy who is a perfect blend of unprecedented intelligence and humour. He can send people into splits even in the most adverse situations and can also give them jitters in the most pleasant situations. This is Sid for you.

He takes time to open up with people but once he reaches a level of comfort with people then he is like a house on fire. There cannot be even a moment when you can get bored in his company. He is a complete genuine person with no put ons.

He is an extremely gutty kinda guy who loves to trailblaze the least travelled routes. It is this trait of his that led to a revolution in the quizzing industry of India.

His website www.quizometer.com is the plank on which he revoultionalized online quizzing into a trend. His website registered highest ever clicks for a quizzing website in India. The website is now a hot property amomgst the best quizzers of the country. He has alliances with several topshot corporates of India like Timex and Financial Technologies who feel esteemed to be associated with quizometer.

He recently organized the 'Quiz Bowl', which led to heavy weights like Acer, Red Bull etc scurrying to be associated with it. All the major corporates of India participated in that show which was hosted by by Mitesh Agarwal - India's No.1 quizzer. Cognizant were the proud winners of this meticulous competition.

He even has a blog which gives you an absolute insight into the Indian Retail Industry. His blog is used by many renowned academicians all over the country to drive their research.

His life is full of cliches. He believes not studying for the exams is the secret of getting more marks!! His CGPA justifies this empirical cliche of his. So his sleeping hours remain the same or increase once exams are round the corner.

His philosophy in life is 'If things go your way then have fun and if things do not go your way then increase your fun' I am one of the beneficiary of this philosophy. Once you are in his company, you feel that life is almost perfect and is bereft of all sorrows.

So Dost!! Good Luck to you in all your future endeavors.

Hint about my next friend:
Some relationships do not have a name!!

Gaurav Malhotra

My next friend in the section of 'Gehri Dosti' is Gaurav Malhotra

Probably the most famous Gaurav amongst the pleothera of Gauravs we have in our college. If this still does not ring a bell, then I have another technique. Just say that 'Bikes are bakwaas', the only guy who comes out to kill you is Gaurav Malhotra.

He is a synonym with fun, frolic and masti and after seeing him I totally believed in the proverb 'Appearances are deceptive'. Because one look at him and he gives you an impression of a particular bespectacled nerdy chocolaty boy whose cheeks girls would love to squeeze and say 'Cho Chweet'

But he is no so. He is an 'ammmaaazzing' person with even more amazing traits. He is got probably the best physique in college and shamelessly loves to flaunt it but he is not gay!! He can be soft spoken at times and at the same time blow away your eardrums. He has a golden heart which is akin to a spotless mirror.

Has been through unimaginable ups and downs all his life but has emerged even stronger despite facing tremendous adversities. Swimming against the tide is his forte. Loves life in the faster lane and carries a devil-may-care attitude up his sleeve.

He has been a scholarship holder throughout his MBA stint and is destined for better things.

Now coming to his core competency. Well...he can romance even a stick. I have never seen Delhi becoming Gurgaon by afternoon and again Gurgaon becoming Noida by evening!! The people who know him might have guessed what I am talking about??? Hahaha; Gaurav, that was the heights!!!

And finally let me talk about his girlfriend(s)...........BIKES. Totally bonkers about bikes. Can talk about them with every intricate detail from morning till noon, from noon till evening, from evening till night and from night till the next morning. He can tell a bike's model just by listening to its voice. Inshallah one day he too would become a proud owner of one of those sexy bikes he is bonkers about.

All said and done, its been a roller coaster ride with you buddy and I hope that this friendship just lasts forever...........

So Dost!! Good Luck to you in all your future endeavors.

Hint about my next friend:
1) Probably the only entrepreneur of our college.
2) I call him 'Pali ka Rajkumar'

Arjun Mimani

My next friend in the section of 'Gehri Dosti' is Arjun Mimani.

Well......Arjun has been my flatmate for almost two years now. So I think I have the liberty to informally write about him.

When we initially met, the first thing he asked me was whether I drink or smoke??? (BTW my reply was negative). This set the ball rolling for a two year journey with him. A well groomed and tidy guy who has a stickling for humour. He is very calm and composed even in drastic haphazard situations.

Never feels bad for anything and takes everything in his stride. One trait which we share in common is to take life as it comes and not keep unnecessarily worrying about things.

I would also like to reveal his worst kept secret; He can't ride a bike!!

He was the first person who taught me accounts in my freshman year (I would not like to elaborate on that!!!)

He values all his friends a lot, that is why he always has a bulging group of friends. He is absolutely honest in all his interactions with everyone. It is not that he is a geeky kinda person. When it comes to having fun, he is unprecedented.

The real Arjun appears whenever there is a birthday party. He brings with him all the vigour and energy which has now become a kind of hallmark of him. Just his presence in any birthday party would take that party to altogether a new horizon. His presence marks the doom for any cake as the cake might have felt, 'Yaar Arjun Aagaya!!' He is the always the first one to start the birthday proceedings but has that knack of getting away from the hell that breaks loose thereafter, unscathed.

Another aspect of him are his deoderants. Any brand's deoderant that Arjun uses increases that brand's market share by atleast 2% because of the amount of deoderant he applies.(That does not mean that he does not have a bath!! He baths daily). Because when he applies them, its fragrance lingers in our flat for hours.

No write up about Arjun can be complete without mentioning his infatuation for video games. Be it Counter Strike, GTA, Virtual Villagers etc, he plays them all and plays them well. Infact very well!!

And finally, movies. No matter how big a hit a movie is or how big flop a movie is, he watches them all and watches them in theatres. There have been times when he has watched three movies in a single day. Phew!!

So Dost!! Good Luck to you in all your future endeavors.

Hint for my next friend:
'Busa is Ammmaaaazingg!!'

Rishabh Duseja

My second friend in the section of 'Gehri Dosti' is Rishabh Duseja.

Yeah he was my roomie for a week even before Harshit had come in. My first impression of him was of some reserved and sophisticated kinda guy but over the past two years almost, my pretensions about him took a severe beating. Hell!! he is damn fun. His witty one liners are a treat to the ears.

I still laugh at his quote '..........toh lanka mein kyun kooda?'. Hahaha. Very particular about cleanliness. You should visit his room and see his table and wardrobe to believe what I am actually writing. Learnt Counter Strike from Karan (more about him later) but now almost rivals him at it.

He always carries a tweeky smile on his face. His bike was the savior to many expeditions which we underwent over the past years. I guess he is a quick learner; Ask the people around him how fast he learnt Table Tennis. He was my doubles partner at Coliesium who lost the match because of my over confidence. His trusted aide and Man Friday is Sumit (again more about him later), who does not even breathe without asking Rishabh.

Researches for new games on the internet. He showed us how to play the feather game on the internet!!! (I hope you got what I meant). In his company life is always jolly.

And yeah, this might come as a shocker to many. Rishabh is ultra ultra religious, who goes to the temple every thursday and has even been to Shirdi recently. There is a small temple in his room too in which he worships daily.

Can be awfully sarcastic at times but is mostly quiet. When dragged into an argument, few people can overcome him.

He is a sincere soul whose company people feel extremely important and jovial.

So Dost!! Good Luck to you in all your future endeavors.

Hint for my next friend:
1) Mere cell par call kar
2) Yeh do fingers me se ek finger choose kar

Harshit Agarwal

I am starting off my 'Gehri Dosti' section by writing about my roomie Harshit Agarwal.

Kahela tensun hai
Bhakh peeche se maar diya(In Counter Strike) etc etc etc

All these phrases leave me in continuous splits for at least an hour daily. Well I am gonna write about a simple boy from Basti.

A computer Engineer by profession, this boy is a total kid at heart. At times you would be surprised by his sheer innocence. He is a very straight forward kind of guy and indulges in full on masti.

I and him are always at loggerheads as to whether Basti(the place where he hails from is a village or a city). All my friends fondly call him BABA, but its only me who calls him by some other name. I am sure if he reads this post, he will surely understand what I am talking about. But I would not write all that here.

He sets his alarm to 7:15 AM, but finally wakes up at 8:00 AM to catch the 8:30 AM class. One of the few guys who accept me the way I am. His knowledge in computers is unparalleled. He is also a web designer. His website www.mba10.com is well known among the college fraternity.

I always tell him that you are too innocent to be living in Bangalore and that too I sometimes wonder how he survived in Bangalore for the past 4 years. He is a Computer Engineer grad from Ramaiah College-one of the best engineering colleges in India.

His favourite game at Amoeba is the dancing equipment on the second floor and now he has developed immense liking for bowling. He celebrates all his victories whole-heartedly no matter how big or how small his victories are.

He calls his antique bike his DULHAN. I always tease him that his bike is fit for museums and he retaliates, but its all fun and done in the right spirit.

Well..... I have talked a lot about this simple boy from Basti. But who is he?

He is my roomie-HARSHIT AGRAWAL-The best roomie anybody can expect.

Hint for my next friend:
My erstwhile roomie.

Ae Waqt Ruk Jaa..........

Ae Waqt Ruk Jaa.....
Tham Jaa, Theher Jaa.....
Waapas Zara Daud Peeche.....

Don't need to say that the above song lyric is from King's biggest hit ever - DDLJ.

This is the lyric I have been humming over the past few days...Reason: The feeling has sunk in that only 60 odd days remain for my MBA to get over and the beautiful journey through which I have sailed over the past year and a half would soon come to an end.

There were many ups and downs through my beautiful journey but had it not been for God's mercy, my family's love and support and my friends company, this journey would have been a path of thorns rather than a bed of roses. I have always thanked God and my family for always being with me but have not really done that to my lovely bunch of friends.

So over the next month I would be writing about all my friends who helped me traverse through my MBA journey, under the heading 'Gehri Dosti'; beginning from this Sunday. I would write about a friend of mine on every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.

And everytime I write about one of my friends, I would give the hint of my other friend about whom I would be writing next. The order in which I write about my friends follow no sequence but random permutations.

So here it starts.........

Hint about the friend with whom I will be starting off 'Gehri Dosti':

Hint No. 1: Bhak Maar Diya
Hint No. 2: Karan, Mama Ki Gun Lekar De Mujhe

Bangalore Enveloped in Fog

This pic was shot from my Motorola Cell Camera.

The moment I woke up and looked outside my balcony, I saw hardly any visibility and the entire surrounding was engulfed in fog. It was something I had rarely seen in my life. I could not resist but pull out my cell and capture the scenic imagery outside my balcony.

Its Beautiful!!!!!

She Said 'What A Chop?'

The cool breeze flung across my face as I alighted from the auto and grudgingly headed towards the college to attend my class. I was climbing the stairs when I heard a flurry of words said by the speed of the bullet train of Japan. I heard only King Khan speak faster than that.

Almost instinctively I stopped and looked back as a curly haired girl with piercing eyes and a cell phone clutched in her hand joined me on the stair case. We exchanged customary greetings and walked towards the class, taking a quick sip of water on the way.

The setting was a case discussion which neither of us had read. It was an exception that I had not read it and a regulation that she had not read. We sat together consoling each other that the faculty would ask neither.

My bubble of hope was quickly burst when Sir handed me a sub topic to be explained to the class. I tried my best to make her believe that we both have to explain it but she was shrewd enough to see through my bluff.

We both started reading the part and the cycle for case explanations started. I quickly got through my part which was more or less what Sir had expected. Then began the actual fun…………

I started talking to her regarding all the unimportant topics I could get in my head. Though she was listening but was skeptical about Sir’s presence. Once in a while she would try to stop me from talking. But it was more like a formality rather than a compulsion. She too was enjoying herself.

We had already transferred ourselves to the la-la land of thoughts and only our physical bodies were ominous to the happenings of the class. Our flurry of cooings and thoughts were rudely interrupted when Sir suddenly asked her a question. This came as a bolt from the blue for her.

I looked at her from the corner of my eyes desperately trying to stifle my chuckle which could have evolved into a full blown laughter.

She sat beside me dumbfounded as she was totally oblivious to the happening of the class. It would have been the same case for me if Sir would have asked me. But people say I am lucky, she was not so.

She looked into Sir’s eyes with a wistful smile on her face. I am sure she was heavily ‘galli’fying me for her condition. Sir continued to pester her for an answer and by now her face had turned red and her mind was blank. She sat there like a helpless Dumbo. Sir then realized that it was a waste trying to evoke a response from her and turned his attention towards other souls.

Her ordeal was over only for mine to begin.

With harsh ‘gallis’ and harsher anger she trained her guns towards me, holding me responsible for her ‘suffering’. All I could do is sit there and bear whatever she had to say. Though she never meant a word she said but the very expression of her face would have been enough to give horrible nightmares to toddlers.

Of the many ‘glorious phrases’ she said, my mind picked up the phrase,

‘What a chop?’

My mind suddenly went into an overdrive and I couldn’t restrain myself from asking her its meaning.

She was super pissed to take the effort to explain to me its meaning but I kept on thinking what it meant and her nonstop rants were reminiscent of the nonstop bullets of the Maverick gun of Counter Strike.

Even as I type these lines I am still making an effort to decipher what that word literally means and why did she use it in that context.

Finally a word to my friend: No hard feelings Dost because these are those instances which add and make memories to be cherished for a lifetime……………

Unable To Attract Even A Single Girl, Frustrated Man Sues Axe!!!

In what could prove to be a major marketing and legal embarrassment for Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), a 26-year-old man has filed a case against the FMCG company, which owns the Axe brand of men grooming products, for ‘cheating’ and causing him ‘mental suffering’. The plaintiff has cited his failure to attract any girl at all even though he’s been using Axe products for over seven years now. Axe advertisements suggest that the products help men in instantly attracting women.

Vaibhav Bedi, the petitioner, also surrendered all his used, unused and half-used deodorant sprays, perfume sticks and roll-ons, anti-perspirants, aftershaves, body washes, shampoos, and hair gels to the court, and demanded a laboratory test of the products and narcotics test of the brand managers of Axe. Vaibhav was pushed to take this step when his bai (maid) beat him with a broom when he tried to impress her by appearing naked in front of her after applying all the Axe products. No girl ever asked Vaibhav to call her.


“Where the f%*@k is the Axe effect? I’ve been waiting for it for over seven years. Right from my college to now in my office, no girl ever agreed to even go out for a tea or coffee with me, even though I’m sure they could smell my perfumes, deodorants and aftershaves. I always applied them in abundance to make sure the girls get turned on as they show in the television. Finally I thought I’d try to impress my lonely bai who had an ugly fight with her husband and was living alone for over a year. Axe effect my foot!” Vaibhav expressed his
unhappiness.

Vaibhav claims that he had been using all the Axe products as per the company’s instructions even since he first bought them. He argued that if he couldn’t experience the Axe effect despite using the products as directed, either the company was making false claims or selling fake products.

“I had always stored them in cool and dry place, and kept them away from direct light
or heat. I’d always use a ruler before applying the spray and make sure that the distance between the nozzle and my armpit was at least 15 centimeters. I’d do everything they told. I even beat up my 5-year-old nephew for coming near my closet, as they had instructed it to keep away from children’s reach. And yet, all I get is a broom beating from my ugly bai.” Vaibhav expressed his frustration.

Vaibhav claims that he had to do go a lot of mental suffering and public humiliation due to the lack of Axe effect and wants HUL to compensate him for this agony. An advocate in Karkardooma court, who happened to mistake Vaibhav for some deodorant vendor when he entered the court premises with all the bottles, has now offered to take up his case in the court. HUL has been served a legal notice in this regard.

HUL has officially declined to comment on the case citing the subject to be sub judice, but our sources inform that the company was worried over the possible outcomes of the case. The company might argue that Vaibhav was hopelessly unattractive and unintelligent and didn’t possess the bare minimum requirements for the Axe effect to take place. Officially HUL has not issued any statement, but legal experts believe that HUL could have tough time convincing the court.

“HUL might be tempted to take that line of argument, but it is very risky. There is no data to substantiate the supposition that unattractive and unintelligent men don’t attract women. In fact some of the best looking women have been known to marry and date absolutely ghoulish guys. I’d suggest that the company settles this issue out of court.” noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani said.


Source:http://www.bangalorexpo.com/news/politics/unable-to-attract-even-a-single-girl-frustrated-man-sues-axe/

An Update On My Second Novel - Blue Bells

Today I had a sumptuous dinner at Wangs - a Chinese restaurant in Bangalore. The restaurant had a good ambience and the food was also good.As I sat down on my laptop typing pages after pages of my second novel - Blue Bells, I got engrossed into the unfolding events in my novels and almost lost touch with the outside world.

I reached an instant while typing the novel, where Suraj - the main protagonist of my novel has a habit of writing blogs. It was then that I realized I had a blog too and it had been a long time ever since I had posted anything on it. I opened my blog to see what was my last post. I felt that I needed to write another post to spice up my visitor clicks. But what do I write remained a big question???

I am literally living with the characters of my novel and all I can think of at this moment is my novel. So I am updating you guys on the latest happening in my novel.

Well... first things first. This novel is set in a Post Graduation College and Blue Bells is the name of the canteen in that college and that also happens to be the name of my novel. It is so because this canteen has a very vital part in my novel. I can say that it is this canteen which actually runs my novel because most of the story unfolds here.

I am currently penning down an intense confrontation scene between Suraj and Pooja. I can't reveal further as it would act as a spoiler. All I can say is that this is one of the most crucial scenes of my novel and my novel takes a different altitude after this scene.

Well, I am having a lot of fun penning down this novel. It is actually making me understand various facets of life in a better manner.

Sorry to end this post in an abrupt manner coz it is very late into the night and I am already feeling sleepy.

Is Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize his Anticipatory Bail ???

A couple of days ago as I opened the website rediff.com to check out some movie masala news and I stumbled upon the biggest masala news; 'Barack Obama wins Nobel Peace prize'. My first reaction was WHAT!!! and my jaw dropped. It has not even been a year since he got into the office and now he was a Nobel Prize winner!!!

The world too reacted in no uncertain terms. The reactions ranged from;

'What has he done to merit this?'

'I thought Miss Universe was the only event where people get awarded for making empty speeches about world peace.' (This reaction takes the cake as the best reaction)

Now the question is what made the Nobel Prize committee which sits in the comfortable environs of Norway decide on the Peace Prize for Barack obama????

Considering that USA is waging many battles in the world, building missile systems in Europe against Russia, trying to intimidate China indirectly etc.......So how does the PEACE come into picture for its President????

The only feasible answer that seems to emerge is that now that Mr. Obama has been conferred the top honour, he has got to live upto it. Now he has an additional responsibility to make sure that the world is a safe and 'PEACE'ful place to live in.

Mr. Obama will begin feeling the heat as the entire world has once again turned their focus on everything that Mr. Obama does. He will now understand what it takes to be a PEACE awardee. One wrong step and people will accuse him of 'buying' the Peace award (if they already havn't).

Now with great 'PEACE' comes great responsibility and it would be interesting to see how Mr. Obama will conduct himself. Mr. Obama himself acknowledged this when he said on Friday, upon accepting the award, "The Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes."

The first step that Mr. Obama would be considering to justify his 'PEACE' award is to mend USA's relations with the international community. He can start off by not pestering India to sign the NPT. My argument is how can a country with arguably the largest nuclear arsenal in the world ask other nations to engage in disarmament of its nuclear arsenal???

So all my thoughts converge to a common platform that the Nobel Awards Committee played its trump card by conferring 'PEACE' prize to Barack Obama. Coz now his PEACE prize will act as his anticipatory bail and he would be forced not to take any foolish steps that would hamper world peace. Now before any foreign policy that Mr. Obama mulls on, the PEACE prize would invariably play on his mind.

But one question stills lingers in mind; 'Did Barack Obama win the Nobel PEACE Prize for being Barack Obama or for NOT being George Bush???'

The era of Michael Schumacher can never be replicated in Formula 1!!!!!

If I have to describe the Michael Schumacher era in one word, it has to be 'BRUTAL DOMINATION'. His unsatiated hunger for victory speaks about his potentially invincible stature.

I have just watched the qualifying of the Monza GP in which Force India again made it to the front row. Their podium at the Belgium GP was an indicator of what was in store for the nascent F1 team.

But the question which comes to my mind is whether F1 has lost a single person who wins majority of the races in a calendar year???? This year we had many winners in the form of Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button, Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonnen. 3-4 years down the line, this kind of scenario would have been impossible.

There was only one victor and that was Michael Schumacher in almost all the races. The races in which he could not win would merely be because of a fault in his car or the rare mistake that he would have committed. But he was accused of making Formula 1 boring. I strongly disagree!!!

When Schumacher was racing, my only motive to watch F1 was to see Schumacher winning. But now after Schumacher walked into the sunset, there is no clear dominator in the F1 circuit. Now some people will vouch that F1 has become more intersting now because the winner cannot be predicted.

I again disagree because now there is no consistency in the racing patterns. Jenson Button wins one race and the next race he cannot even make the Q3. Same is the case with Lewis Hamilton. This kind of a scenario leaves you completely fuming and frustrated.

Atleast when Schumacher was around we were able to see consistent racing atleast from one driver. But that scenario has now become a distant memory. I still remember the US GP of 2003 when Schumacher spun and qualified in the 14th position. The racers of today would have given up hope and settled by targeting for points. I still remember Schumacher telling the TV cameras that despite starting from the 14th position he would still be aiming for victory.

As King Khan said in his movie Om Shanti Om; 'Kisi bhi cheez ko dil se chaho toh poori kainaath use tumse milane ki koshish me lag jaati hai'

This is exactly what happened with Schumacher. 20 minutes into the race and it started raining heavily and Schumacher is hailed as the KING OF WET RACES. No body has ever graced the Formula 1 circuit who would even dare to think of defeating Schumacher in a wet race. And as he had said he won the race despite starting from the 14th position.

That was the kind of hunger Schumacher had for victory which is missing in the PLASTIC drivers now-a-days. All they care is strategy, strategy and strategy. The passion for racing and for victory that Schumacher championed for is now missing.

As Schumacher walked into the sunset, he has taken away with him the zing which the Formula 1 racing used to be known for. It appears to me that you pick any Tom, Dick and Harry and put him in the F1 car and he can also win. This is the extent of the depreciation of the F1 standards.

Michael Schumacher or 'Schumi' as he was lovingly called will surely be missed in F1 in the years and decades to come and had it not been for Michael Schumacher, the sport called Formula 1 would have been as obscure as the NASCAR racing.

It is not that Formula 1 made Michael Schumacher, it is just that MICHAEL SCHUMACHER made Formula 1.

Has MTV Lost It???

I am watching MTV as I write this post and it is playing the song Khudaya Khair from King Khan's film Billu and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised.

It was because in the recent times MTV had gone back on its main objective of being a music channel which it had initially intended to be. In the recent past I have noticed that MTV has begun concentrating more on the reality shows rather than showing music videos.

It does show music videos but it is peppered between the reality shows. Agreed that it was a reality show 'MTV Roadies' that skyrocketed the TRPs of MTV but now I feel that they are overdoing it.

There is a mushrooming of nonsensical reality shows on MTV of which Splitsville takes the cherry of being the worst show ever on TV. There is absolutely no objective in running that crap show.

What I as a television watcher want is entertainment and what do I get in knowing who is having an affair with whom and Splitsville is all about this nonsense.

With the emerging threat from other music channels like ZOOM TV and other local music channels eating into the market share of MTV, MTV has to do drastically different and fast to be able to retain its viewers from defecting to other music channels.

But is anybody listening?????

First Look: My Name Is KHAN

Hold your breath folks !!! Coz you have just seen a glimpse of a cyclone.

A cyclone in waiting to shatter away everything in its way.

A cyclone that will rewrite history.

A cyclone that will rip apart all notions.

A cyclone that is 'In Your Face' flick.

A cyclone that stars THE KING.

A cyclone called 'MY NAME IS KHAN'.

My Name Is Khan stars the unbeatable Jodi of King Khan and Kajol. It is being directed by Karan Johar. It has been purchased by Fox Studios (the same studios which distributed Slumdog Millionaire worldwide) for an astounding 98 crores - the highest ever in the history of Indian Cinema.

Fox plans to release My Name Is Khan at an earth shattering 18000 screens worldwide. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince released at 15900 screens. The reason being that they are happy with the way it has shaped up and to add to it, the mesmerizing presence of THE KING.

My Name Is Khan is slated to release on 22 January 2010, targeting the Republic Day week.

The tremors of My Name Is Khan have already been felt. Rakesh Roshan's Kites which stars Hrithik Roshan and Rajkumar Hirani's 3 Idiots starring Aamir Khan have postponed their respective films. Both of which were initially scheduled to release of 15th and 22nd January respectively.

The wait for My Name Is Khan begins..........

Matching 'Kundalis' for Gay Jodis - The Marketing Perspective

For ages parents went to the astrologers to match the kundali of their son or daughter with the kundali of the prospective bride or bride groom. When the kundalis matched, jubilation and celebration followed and in some cases when the kundalis didn’t match, the astrologers matched them by the revenue from under the table. There were some instances which came in the news that some mangliks were married to trees etc. All in all it was an easy, respectable and profitable job for most of the astrologers of the country.

Then came up a storm which was slowly brewing up in the Indian society; Section 377 or legalizing Gay marriages. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is a piece of legislation in India introduced during British rule of India that criminalizes sexual activity "against the order of nature." The section was read down to decriminalize same-sex behavior among consenting adults in a historic judgment by the High Court of Delhi on 2 July 2009. Section 377 continues to apply in the case of sex involving minors and coercive sex.

In the entire brouhaha, where some were fully buoyed and some others were up against in arms against the law, then there was a third kind…..Not exactly buoyed, not exactly against it but very confused – The Astrologers. The big question in their mind was what to do when two guys or two gals come to them to match their Kundalis?????

Matching Kundalis of Gay couples is totally a new market for the astrologers and we can bet our last penny on the fact that none of the astrologers would be aware of the Ansoff’s Matrix as to what strategy to be applied for carrying on an existing service in a new market. We are writing this article to help them in their hour of distress.

Well Market Development is the strategy that is to be used to market existing services in new markets. The strategies they could follow are as follows:

1) The first step in developing Market Development strategy would be to target the customers. What we feel is initially all the same sex couples would marry in courts, so the astrologers can set up exclusive small kiosks in the vicinity of those courts and put up their assistants and directly market their services to the same sex couples by offering them prices lower than what they would charge to a normal/straight couple. The astrologer who sets up his kiosk first would obviously have a first mover advantage and can be able to gain publicity and that would boost up his business.

2) A group of astrologers can come together and form an organization that would specialize matching gay kundalis and also in conducting gay marriages and they could name their organization as ‘Reverse Swing’ etc because in India everything associated with cricket sells.

3) This organization could also provide the gay couples with additional benefits like discounted referrals, which means that the other gay couple which they recommend to these astrologers would get a 15% off and the same 15% would be refunded to the initial couple. This chain could continue and prove beneficial to both the astrologer and his customers.

4) This organization can tie up with the Bombay Dost Magazine (India’s first gay magazine) and advertise their services through it. They can come up with an offer that if one person of the gay couple who want their kundalis matched is a subscriber of this magazine then he could avail those services for free. The astrologers in turn can take their commission from the magazine.

5) Another strategy would be that these astrologers can hire Pandits who would conduct the marriage of the gay couple and the gay couples who got their kundalis matches by these astrologers would again get a discount in the expenses of conducting their marriage.

6) This organization can rope in Celina Jaitley (the current champion of gay rights) as their brand ambassador so as to get in eyeballs and promote their organization.

Bane Chahe Dushman Zamaana Hamaara,
Salamat Rahe DOSTANA Hamara !!!

P.S: The above post is jointly written by me and my friend Pankhuri. We developed these strategies by working on an idea given to us by Prof. Sunil Pevekar in our Services Marketing class. We don’t know the feasibility of our strategies but we had a lot of fun in formulating them.

How I Snatched Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory.....

The title is absolutely apt. Yeah, today I actually snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. The setting was a table tennis doubles match in which I had partnered with my friend Rishabh Duseja.

We started on a positive note and were confident about our victory. The first set reinforced our belief as we won it quite convincingly. The second set also started on a positive note and we raced away to a 7-4 lead in a game of 11 points. It was a lead which we could have easily clung to and in the process pocket the match.

This is where I got over confident and started gifting points away. Though Rishabh reminded me to play my natural game but I was still experimenting thinking that the match was as good as over. My extra over confidence led to our downfall.

Our opponents slowly came from behind and in a stunning fashion won the second set 11-9. This victory put in more confidence in our opponents and put us into a shock which we found difficult to overcome.

With a new found zeal, our opponents started the match pretty well but Rishabh was upto their challenge and I was floundering and was messing up my serves. In the process our opponents raced to a 8-5 lead which we found difficult to overcome and ultimately lost the match despite playing better than our opponents for a major chunk of the game.

The difference between our victory and defeat was undoubtedly me. Because Rishabh was playing the best table tennis he ever played in his life and on the contrary I was playing my worst, which led to our defeat.

Through this blog I would like to apologize to my partner Rishabh for throwing the match away despite being in a position to win it.

Sach Ka Saamna, Duniya Ke Saamne

A couple of months ago I was watching an episode of 'The Moment Of Truth', a game show in which you are rewarded for telling the truth to all those embarassing questions pertaining to your life. And I was like 'Hell!!, this is one show that cannot be Indianized' and two months later I am in front of the TV watching 'Sach Ka Saamna', its Indian version and I must admit that I was wrong as the Indian version is as much rocking as the American version was.

The first contestant on the show, a lady in her 40s tore apart to smithereens the so called sabhyata, parampara, izzat etc. Is this the beginning of Indian modernization???, I thought. The way, the woman handled the questions with tact was awesome. Though there were questions that put her on a sticky wicket, but then she was as truthful as she could be or was it the lure of those millions she would be getting.

Have you ever thought of killing your husband??

This was the question that put her in a catch 22 situation and she honestly told that she would, but again who wouldn't???? Hehehehehe...

She stood her ground saying that alcoholism of her husband was the root cause of all the sufferings her married life had endured.

Then came the final question,

'Would you sleep with another man if your husband never found out?'

This was a question which she HAD to tell NO despite the fact that maybe she herself knew that the answer could be a YES. This is when I realized that we are still in India. Had she said yes, despite her millions, her married life would never had been the same with the seeds of suspicion already planted in their relationship.

She tried to lie, but the polygraphic test caught her bluff and she was booted out without a penny and now she will have to spend the rest of her life explaining that polygraphic test results are wrong.'

The second contestant was a 60+ year old buddha. After watching his episodes, I am reminded of a couplet which I had heard some years ago.

'Kaun kehta hai buddhon ko ishq nahin hota,
Ishq hota hai par kisi ko shak nahin hota'

It seemed that this guy had practically slept with everything that has a life. Be it his wives (he had three), girlfriend, girls younger than his daughter and even the prostitutes.....PHEW!!!

He too lost out trying to save his relationship with his daughter but the lure of money is bigger than anything else.

Well, this show has caught on the fancy of the Indian junta with everyone who I know getting hooked to this show and the TRPs of Star Plus exploding. But I feel it would not be long before the so called moral policing again comes up in arms against this serial and rob us of all the fun we get while watching it.

And finally a word or two on its host - Rajeev Khandelwal. I feel he is doing a decent job provided the main pull which the show generates is from the questions being asked and Rajeev is mainly the facilitator.

Overall a bold show, considering Indian standards.

Men Are Men and Women Are Women ALSO.....

A married couple in their early 60s was celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in a quiet, Romantic little restaurant.

Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table.
She said, 'For being such an exemplary married couple and for being loving to each other for all this time, I will grant you each a wish.'

The wife answered, 'Oh, I want to travel around the world with my darling husband.'

The fairy waved her magic wand and - poof! - two tickets for the Queen Mary II (World's biggest Cruise Ship - as large as four football fields) appeared in her hands.

The husband thought for a moment: 'Well, this is all very romantic, but an opportunity like this will never come again...

I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me..'

The wife, and the fairy, were deeply disappointed, but a wish is a wish. So the fairy waved her magic wand and poof!..

The husband became 92 years old!!!

Come Bhakth (of) 'THE' KAREENA.......

This movie is for all the Bhakths of 'The' Kareena Kapoor. So it is an open invitation to them.....COME BHAKTHS (of) 'THE KAREENA'.

Today I had gone to see this film with my friends and Kareena Kapoor was the only motivation behind me watching an Akshay Kumar comedy and hell, I wasn't disappointed. She made be burst into peals of laughter and also squirm in my seat with embarrasment. But again as I mentioned, she is THE KAREENA.....

Admirable, Alluring, Angelic, Charming, Comely, Dazzling, Elegant, Stunning, Beauteous, Bewitching, Pulchristudinous..........The list is endless. But all these words will fall short in front of the amazing Kareena Kapoor.

She makes the film watchable and every time she is on the screen, the takes the film to another level and in the process taking your breath away. Such is her profound presence that she chews up the entire canvas and you can't help look at anything else but Kareena Kapoor.

Beauty with Brains is the apt phrase for her as her dialogue delivery and expressions are simply amazing. Just sample these dialogues;

'I will stop being a bitch the day you stop being a dog.'

'Men are interested in only one thing'

The sheer crudity of these dialogues is such that it would had simply fallen flat had it not been told with the elan in which Kareena Kapoor mouthed them. Everything about her in the movie was so perfect. Be it crass comedy or being a sexy siren to shedding those pearls which we otherwise call as tears, everything was done with sublime subtlety.

The movie begins on a high and steadily climbs up the ladder and reaches its zenith at the ending of the first half. The second half also starts off pretty well with the title song 'kambakth ishq' and afterwards its begins to tumble down the hill with the movie getting emotional and finally picks up a bit towards the climax but had it not been for the svelte Kareena Kapoor and a very strong first half, the film would have been a damp squid. But now its a watchable film if you leave your brains back home.

Oh yeah, there is also Akshay kumar in the film but he is completely overshadowed by Kareena Kapoor. But with the form that Kareena Kapoor was in, she would have overshadowed any damn actor (like Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan etc) except THE SRK.

Overall I would rate the movie 3/5 and all those 3 points are for THE KAREENA KAPOOR.

CAUTION:- Never ask a girl for the review of this particular movie because half of the girls are jealous of THE KAREENA KAPOOR and the remaining half would not admit that they are jealous.

Its 'BLUE BELLS'

Yeah, it is the name of my new novel. 'BLUE BELLS'. As I had mentioned in my earlier post that I would be starting writing my second novel from my birthday i.e 1st of July and I have already begun writing it.

Here is a sneak peak into the main characters of my novel.

SURAJ SINGH: A meek guy born into a very rich family with an astounding legacy. At times his family legacy becomes his biggest enemy. He values his freedom and is very particular about his relationships, be it with his family or with his friends. One thing happens in his life and then circumstances go beyond his control. There are three women who were connected to his life Pooja Goel, Prerna Gupta and Saanjh Chauhan.

POOJA GOEL: First woman in Suraj's life.

PRERNA GUPTA: Second woman in Suraj's life.

SAANJH CHAUHAN: Third woman in Suraj's life who also happens to be his wife.

SAMIR - THE EUNUCH: A eunuch who is the mystery element in the novel.

SYNOPSIS:
Suraj and Saanjh are a happy married couple. But Suraj has some secrets in his life. The secret of Pooja and Prerna. Who actually were they and how was Suraj connected to them?

Can Suraj be able to keep his past and present separate or will his past decide his future???

Blue Bells is a riveting novel about love, lies, hate, betrayal, sacrifice that would stir your souls as it begins to unfold.

P.S: I have already written the ending climax of this novel and put it away in the closet. Right now I am penning the first chapter of this novel which begins with the marriage of Suraj and Saanjh.

I plan to complete this novel over a period of 6 months but I was working on it over the past one year to get all the nuances right before I actually start penning it down. The rough draft of this novel is ready and it has come out exactly as I had envisioned it to be.

Hopefully the final product will also be the same as I had envisioned it to be.

A Passing Thought..........

'WHAT is RIGHT is more important than WHO is RIGHT'

A BIG "THANK YOU' GUYS

Today I celebrated my birthday and must tell you that I really had a blast. All my friends poured into my flat and we all had a gala time. A chocolate cake was brought and reignitable candles were put. The moment I was blowing them off, they would reignite again and it was a lot of fun.

Then came the best or the worst part - the birthday bombs. My ass is still aching as I write this post.But it soon passed onto everyone who were present, the girls were left out. Phew, girls sometimes have awesome advantages being one.

Through my blog I would like to thank each one of my friends who made my birthday a memorable event. (The listing of names do not follow any particular order)

HARSHIT AGARWAL: My roomie, who was more concerned about my birthday than I myself was. I couldn't have envisioned this bash without you.

PANKHURI JINDAL: My alter ego, with whom I can share practically every bit of information and more importantly she actually listens to everything I say.

RISHABH DUSEJA: Amazing comic timing that can leave even the stone hearted into splits.

SUMIT DWIVEDI: Our favourite punching bag but dude there is no fun without you.

KARAN LOKWANI: The whizkid in our circle and an expert gamer.

RAHUL: He is lovingly called 'BOSS' for a reason.

ARJUN MIMANI: He can make you cry with laughter and he is the perfect chocolate boy.

KAPIL BHATI: Size doesn't matter when it comes to being a prodigy and he is one.

NISHA GUPTA: Relatively a new friend of mine but der aaye durust aaye.

SHEENA MATHUR: Heyyyyyyy Sheena!!!!! Her voice echoes in our flat even in her absence.

GAURAV MALHOTRA: If looks could kill, then he could be the most wanted guy.

UTSAVI SHAH: Bond of finance and for whom laughing is a habit.

MAYANK SURI: Can learn any game at the drop of a hat. Be it CS, TT or whatever.

SHILPA BHATIA: The only girl who kicked me as a part of my birthday bombs!!!!!

ADITYA AGARWAL: The most organized organism on earth.

GUYS THIS BASH COULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT YOU ALL. THANKS A BILLION!!!!!

BAAZIGAR: The Reason Why I Became A Hardcore SRK Fan

I still remember vividly that we had gone to our relatives' place in Al-Khobar in Saudi Arabia. It was drizzling outside and I was insisting that I go outside and play football along with my brother and cousins. But my uncle was reluctant as he thought that we would fall ill if we played in the rain.

'Instead of football, we will all watch a movie', said my uncle.

'Which movie?', I quickly retorted.

'Baazigar, its a new actors' movie', he replied.

Back then I only liked watching action movies of Sunny Deol or Sanjay Dutt. I was contented when my uncle told me that it was also an action movie, which starred 'some new actor'.

He put in the video cassette (there were no CDs at that time) and we all sat watching the movie. Initially I was not lliking the movie nor was I liking the 'new actor'.



For the uninformed, the coin which the 'new actor' tosses in the beginning of the movie is the now extinct Rs. 10 denomination coin. It was in this scene that I came to know that the name of the 'new actor' was actually Shah Rukh Khan.

Slowly I began getting engrossed in the movie. I specially enjoyed the go kart race part in the movie. But the best part was when after the race, SRK removes his helmet and walks over to Madan Chopra. I still remember wetting my hairs with water and trying to shake my head just like SRK did in the movie.



Then followed the now legendary dialogue:
'Kabhi kabhi kuch jeetne ke liye kuch haarna padta hai,
Aur haar kar jeetne waale ko,
BAAZIAGAR kehte hai'

Then comes one of my all time fav songs: Baazigar O Baazigar. I still remember telling my uncle to rewind the song once again after it was played and slowly the horse riding SRK began etching his place in my head. The best part of the songs was when SRK emerges from the water blowing his trumpet.

The movie then progressed very interestingly with a bit of action and comedy thrown in. Then comes the song Ae Mere Humsafar. At that point of time, I hated that song but now it is one of my fav songs and I don't need to tell you why?????

Then comes the 'HIGHLIGHT' of the movie;
'Main tumhe azaad kar raha hoon,
Mujhe maaf kar dena'



This scene hit me like a thunderbolt. I was like Fu#$ing hell!!! How could he throw a woman he loved from the top of a building like a toy. But then he was a man seething in the rage of revenge.

Another scene that stayed with me was the way he changed his eye lenses. Till that time I was totally oblivious to the fact that it could actually be done that way.

The movie then proceeds again with a fast pace and you are totally into the movie as it unfolds. It in now that it is actually shown why SRK is out to ruin the world of Madan Chopra and now you begin to empathize with Vicky Malhotra aka SRK aka King Khan. The movie then leads you to the engagement of SRK and Kajol and the heart wrenching song 'Chupaana bhi nahin aata'.

This song is followed by the out of the world murder of Shilpa Shetty's friend by the ever mesmerizing SRK and the way he chews the photo which could lead to him getting implicated in Shilpa Shetty's murder is a masterpiece.



It is when Madan Chopra decides to make SRK the attorney of his company that the film starts gearing up for a dramatic climax. Kajol decides to pursue the killer of her sister with the help of Inspector Karan and this makes SRK uncomfortable. Beacuse he has begun lovng Kajol and fears that if the truth comes out in the open, he would lose her.

The song 'Yeh kaali kaali aankhen' is the last song of the movie and as they say 'All is well that ends well'. This song wraps up the amazing melodious music score of Baazigar. Specially the typical jeans that SRK wears in this song always stays with me.



But as in a typical masala hindi movie, Kajol and Madan Chopra both come to know the truth about SRK and it is when the the entire hell breaks lose. The climax is SRK's show all the way. The performance he puts in the climax could be easily the best performance ever. The way SRK laughs when he is pierced by the rod by Madan Chopra simply begs an explanation from all your senses.



The ways SRK rushes to his mom after killing Madan Chopra is superb. The way he lies in Rakhee's lap and the performance and the dialogue delivery is simply uncomparable.

'Ab main jee bhar ke sona chahta hoon, Maa'. This dialogue brings a lump in your throat. And the song that plays in the background after SRK dies;

'Mujhko galat naa samajhna,
Main nahin badal awara,
Dil ki deewaron pe maine,
Naam likha hai tumhara.

Tere pyar pe kurbaan,
Mera dil meri jaan,
Tujhe lag jaaye meri ..........'

If you want a proper defination of a POWERHOUSE PERFORMANCE, then it is of SHAH RUKH KHAN in BAAZIGAR.

Book Review: King Of Bollywood

Three days ago I started reading this book on one of the personalities to whom the word 'SUCCESS' can actually be attributed to.

Shah Rukh Khan or King Khan as he is more famously known as is the 'BIGGEST SUPERSTAR' in the exploding $1.5 billion Bollywood industry. The face of a glittering new India, he is an international phenomenon who generates Beatlemania-like hysteria at appearances around the world. Now his legendary success story is brought to life.

This engrossing book reveals how King Khan, a middle class boy from Delhi, broke into insular, nepotistic world of Bombay show business and became a sensation. His larger-than-life tale takes us through colorful and idiosyncratic Bollywood, where fantastic dreams and outrageous obsessions share the spotlight with extortion, murder and corruption.

Written by internationally renowned film critic Anupama Chopra, this definitive volume combines her knowledge of Bollywood with firsthand interviews for a unique insider's look at this billion-dollar movie industry-one that helped to change the face of India.

Some interesting excerpts from the book:
Excerpt 1:
He and his friend were standing near Juhu under a tin shed that was leaking with water as it was raining heavily at that point of time. Shah Rukh was completely drenched. It had only been 10 days since he came to Mumbai and nothing was going his way and he was almost broke.

His friend asked him to come inside the shade but Shah Rukh declined the offer and stood there completely drenched. He looked at the horizon of the Juhu beach and spoke his historical sentence;
'ONE DAY I WILL RULE BOMBAY'

Excerpt 2:
DDLJ became Bollywood's Energizer Bunny-it kept going on and on and on. The film took a life of its own and stayed on the Big Screen and still contunues to run at Maratha Mandir in Mumbai.

DDLJ set up a new heroic prototype. Raj replaced Vijay; Amitabh's Angry Young Man image was buried and gone.

Excerpt 3:
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai broke even DDLJ's record, grossing over $7 million worldwide. It hit the UK's top-ten charts at number nine. In South Africa, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai raked in more money than Titanic.

Excerpt 4:
'You see, Amitabh Bachchan has retired, Dilip Saab is very old and after that I can only see one person and that is me-Shah Rukh Khan', he said. Shah Rukh always knew that one day he would rule the city.

A Jog Down The Memory Lane

As I woke up this morning and looked out of the window of my flat, I saw a father who was teaching his toddler how to ride a cycle. At that very instant, I went into a flashback mode and envisioned myself on that cycle and my father behind me trying to teach me how to ride it. I remember vividly that the first cycle my father had bought me was a red BMX cycle which had pedal brakes.

My father would hold the seat behind me and ask me to pedal. I would pedal freely because I knew that my father was behind me and in the process he would leave the seat and that is how I finally learned cycling.

Today at 21, I still remember almost all my childhood memories as if all those happened yesterday. Back then life was much beautiful or atleast I would like to believe that. SInce I am the eldest of my siblings, I was no doubt the most pampered child and still continue to be one. Never in my life have I ever listened to a NO from my parents and that tradition still holds good. Maybe it is due to this benevolence of my parents that I still do not know the meaning of recession or economic slowdown or maybe my parents never allowed me to understand the meaning of these dreaded words.

Life had quite a different meaning back then. But as I started growing up, I came face to face with the harsh realities of life, something which I was never exposed to in my childhood. For me my childhood was a walk on the path of roses. From centrally air conditioned home to the latest model car to Mercedes Benz buses in which I went to school etc. Life was almost akin to a dream to me.

My parents made sure that I always had the best of everything. I was maybe 5-6 years old when I had my first helicopter ride and I must tell that it was fun. Flying over everybody else and having tthe liberty to look down at people who appeared no bigger than ants was something that would send my adrenalines gushing.

As I was lost in these memories, my roomie came up to me to say something and broke the flow of my thoughts. If a time machine actually exists, then I would really like to go back to the sweet and carefree days of my childhood which was no less than a dream.

Counter Strike is Back !!!!!!!!!!

After a hiatus of around a month, Counter Strike or as we lovingly call it CS is back and is back with a vengeance. The sounds of ecstacy, despair, celebration, triumph are back in our flat. The scenario is such that it is very difficult to even think of a day without having played CS.

OK, will have to wind up this post now as I just about managed to squeeze in time to write this post before I go to play CS. By the way I play CS under the alias of JAI_SRK and I don't think I need to explain the reasons for it.

QUIZ-O-METER - Come Test Your Quotient

'All innovators are fools but not all fools are innovators!!!'

Well the above saying holds true for two of my buddies, Siddharth Jaithalya and Abhishek Nayyar. They along with Anup Kumar are the pioneers of the trail blazing website which goes by the name www.quizometer.com.

You have to visit the website to believe what I have just said. It is the website that tests your General Knowledge in the most amazing and nerve wracking way. So guys and gals if you have got the guts try to figure out the questions posted on that website and you know where exactly you stand.

That website is a result of the hardcore dedication, perseverance, imagination, innovation and many other 'tions' by the 'Foolish' webmasters, Siddharth and Nayyar. But as Ms. Rashmi Bansal says: 'Stay Hungry Stay FOOLISH'.

I have seen this website take shape from its infancy and now it stands tall as one of the most intriguing websites ever made on the ether known as the internet.

The questions are such that they require amazing knowledge and even the so called BIG DADDY of search: GOOGLE stands kneeling down in front of the questions posted on the website. So all you losers out there whose life depends on google search, STOP 'GOOGLING' AND GET A LIFE'

So stop procrastinating and step into the exquisite world of QUIZ-O-METER and show the world that you have got what it takes to crack the QUIZ-O-METER and become the ultimate QUIZZIE!!!!!

My Second Novel

Its been long time ever since I had posted any thing on my blog, as I was a bit busy putting the basic draft of my second novel together. Though I haven't yet decided on the title of the novel, but its premise is a love story.

As always the main protagonist of my novels is Suraj. Its a love story between Suraj, Pooja, Prerna and Saanjh. I had written a 500 word story on this subject when I was in my engineering first year and now I plan to convert it into a full fledged novel.

I plan to begin writing this novel from 1st July which happens to be my birthday, till then I would continue to fine tune it.

The only thing that I can reveal at this point of time is that my novel begins with the marriage of Suraj and Saanjh..........

Happy Mother's Day!!!!!

To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power.

A guardian angel gifted by God, one who takes care of everything from tree to pod, who taught speech when we could hardly speak with syrup of affection and love, she taught what life is. Her scolding, her chide, contained with love she could barely hide. In failure her faith makes us strong, she cannot be replaced, she is full of grace. She is next to God, really. She is the most precious gift given to us. She is mother.

With mother’s day (Sunday May 10th) around the corner, there are billions of people wondering how to make it special because this is the day to celebrate, to show love and appreciation to mothers. It is not a festival but an occasion, an opportunity to do something, something for the one who is the reason for our smile, for our lives. She loves us unconditionally. There is no limit to her love. Nothing is there in the world that gives you the joy of mother's love, the grace of mothers care and a world in mother’s eyes.

What special thing can you give her? She is special indeed. Mothers have a special capacity to love and to give of themselves. They never expect, they only know “to give” whether it is just a small hug or their precious time, they always give everything. Isn’t so? Yes. They are special and only the mothers have that special skill of making things special in life. They turn a sad day into a happy one. Our holidays and birthdays are made more memorable because of the things they plan and do. They know just the right presents to buy for us. They know how to make us happy. They add their touch of love to everything they do. So it is really hard for any child to give something in return to mothers who don’t expect anything. It is in their very nature. Still we want to show some appreciation in the form a gift to the most loving person on our lives. There is no better way to show mom that you care than giving her a memorable gift that she will cherish forever, we all think. Right!

And most of the countries have already started feeling the air of this special occasion. Billions of people are excited. But I am not. They must be thinking to buy a gift, to take mother on shopping, etc, not me. It is not that I am cutting down expenses with recession hit round the globe; I just want “to appreciate”, “to talk” and I wish “to spend time” with her. But I don’t really have it. I am staying in Bangalore leaving her behind in Hyderabad. It is unfortunate and I have to be away from her. I really miss her and don’t really know how I am living without her. Only a few hours with Mom is all it takes to make her feel loved and special. She loves me.

So don’t think of money or budget. Stop pondering what mom should I take for mom? What she will really like it? Is this good for her? She I take her to this place or that? Will this be she liking? Enough, you can give her something without purchase. Something which has in no shop, give her “your time”.

What you can do on Mother’s Day?

- Pray for your mother
- Surprise her with your visit (if not staying together)
- Send her an e-card or wall-paper of flowers (it doesn’t cost you)
- Switch of your cell-phones and shun all appointments with friends and colleagues
- Talk to your mother about your lives, dreams and goals
- Let the mother speak her mind
- Watch a favorite movie together or read a book (she will like it)
- Cook her favorite food instead of taking her outside (she will love it)
- Clean the house, help her in work.

These are the few ideas which moms will love and you don’t have to spend anything on expensive gifts from the markets. Money spent on your mother cannot replace time spent with her. At this time of economic slowdown, if you gift something pricy say chic cell phone, an electronic device, a diamond or gold jewelry, mothers aren’t gonna like it. They will never want there children to spend huge amounts on gifts. Mothers know your financial bills, your use of credit cards, etc. “Mothers Day depresses me when I see my children spend money on gifts that I know they really can't afford” said my aunty, a mother of two children who loves to gift mom on the day special. But if I am not wrong nobody will really put forgo to the thought of not celebrating it or not doing something different for their mothers including myself.

For some “Mothers Day” is a big event, and for others it is morose, the children who lost their mothers at different ages of life miss them the most.Her love is countless and meaningful. Nobody can take her place. Her deep parental kindness in bringing us up and the hardships she has gone through will never be repaid as they are priceless. Her love is endless and indescribable!

Yet, what counts is you’re thought not any gift. If we spend few hours with our mother on this mother’s day it would the best thing we could give. The perfect idea of making a mom happy is “time with her”. Appreciate her and make her feel special. She needs our attention and love like we need hers.

Happy Mother's Day MOM!!! Love you always!!!

A Bloody CHUCKER!!!!!

Statutory Warning: This post might be injurious to your senses. Readers discretion required.

I am writing this post about a chucker whose name I am not going to reveal in this post. It is for you guys to find out.

His very appearance is a total turn off. He plays international cricket and is now even a part of the ongoing IPL (What a SHAME!!!!!). How can the so called the honchos of cricket i.e ICC allow chuckers into the game and bring the noble game of cricket into a disrepute.

This chucker can't bowl a single ball without throwing and he does it so fast by his unconventional action that even the so called high technology that the ICC adapts can't catch it. They come up with certain noxious rules like the bending of arm upto 15 degress. What bulls$%t??????

He is not the only chucker from his country. There is another high profile controversial chucker from his country. I wonder if there is a dearth in bowling department that they are sending in chuckers to play at the highest level and even get away with it.

This chucker has recently created havoc in the ongoing IPL by his illegal deliveries and its a pity that everybody is turning a blind eye to it. This chucker should learn from the clean action of the Indian and Australian pacers like Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson.

He totally covers the umpires face at the point of releasing the ball so that even the umpires can't catch his no balls. Despite 'throwing' the ball at the batsmen, this chucker bowls an average speed of around 135 kmps. Shahid Afridi can bowl at that speeds just by standing in his crease and with a clean action. So there is no big deal about you being a so called 'fast' chucker. Ishant Sharma and Brett Lee can consistently 'bowl' and not 'throw like you' at speeds in excess of 140 kmps and that too with a clean action. So in future never call yourself a 'bowler' coz you are just a 'chucker'.

If you start bowling with a clean action then I am sure that you can't even match the speed of Ganguly aka DADA. So reassess yourself and ponder over your standing in international arena.

A major of your wickets are either of tailenders, or out of form batsmen. If you have guts try bowling to Yusuf Pathan, Virender Sehwag or Adam Gilchrist. They will hit the S$%t out of your a&&.

So next time when you 'throw', always remember that you are a CHUCKER and not a legitimate BOWLER!!!!!

P.S: Can you now guess who I am talking about????

Hint: He is NOT from India.

The King Planning To Sell Off Kolkata Knight Riders

The King has always been associated with success. Everything he touched turned gold, be it Chak De India or Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi or KBC 3. Success is the middle name of The king.

When The King had purchased KKR, everybody was scrambling to be associated with KKR just because The King was associated with it. Therefore KKR became the most sponsored team and in turn became the only profitable team in the inaugural IPL beating away more high profile teams owned by Ambani or Mallya.

But all these things refused to translate into on field performances from the KKR. The last nail being the loss to the minnows - Bangalore. It was the last thing that The King wanted and there was nothing that he could possibly do about it.

So now The King is in talks with Nokia, ADAG, Sahara and some other companies for selling off KKR. According to sources, The King is getting around double the price he paid for purchasing KKR. He has recovered every penny he invested into KKR and is getting monumental profits even by selling off a mediocre team. This is why The King is labelled an articulate businessman. Since his real estate ventures in Dubai are bringing him huge profits, his company Redchillies also doing good, he can safely wash his hands off KKR.

The only identity that KKR had was that The King was its owner and now it would be interesting to see who could stop KKR from free falling once The King's name is disassociated from it.

As far as I am concerned the day The King sells off KKR, I will support the Deccan Chargers as I am from Hyderabad and was supporting the KKR just because of The King.

Kolkata Knight Riders Loses Its Biggest Fan

Prior to the beginning of IPL season 2, the only club that made all the noises was Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Be it the signing of Mashrafe Mortaza for an astronomical amount or the multiple captaincy theory or the lambasting of a certain Sunil Gavaskar, KKR was every where. But as soon as the IPL began it was reduced to sawdust. The club that began with a huge roar is now moving with a frigtened whimper.

Nothing is going right for the KKR at this moment. Starting from the captain's form to the depthless batting and very mediocre bowling coupled by miserable fielding (especially Aakash Chopra - God!!! How did he fit into the 20-20 format???)

The only bright spots in KKR's crumbling armour are Chris Gayle (but he is leaving in a week's time)and Sourav Ganguly (He has proved why people call him DADA).

Though I am from the city of pearls (Hyderabad), I still chose to support KKR, just because Hyderabad's team had Andrew Symonds (the player I hate the most) and KKR's owner was The King and it had Chris Gayle, Ishant Sharma and David Hussey (some of the players I admire the most).

My friends who are reading this post will know how hardcore KKR fan I was. I must admit that KKR is the Real Madrid of IPL. The most glamourous club to be in but very mediocre in its performance.

KKR started its second season at IPL with a defeat to Deccan Chargers, but then again I thought that it was one of the off days of KKR and took it in my stride.

The next match was won by KKR against Punjab. Thanks to the rain and an unstoppable Chris Gayle. I thought that KKR was beginning to gel together as a team.

Then came an irony of fate. KKR lost to a fluke team like Rajasthan Royals. Mainly due to the selection of Ajanta Mendis as the bowler for the super over. Here the entire world realized why Dada is considered India's best captain ever. Had he ben the captain he would never have given Mendis the ball, specially not when Yusuf Pathan was batting.

Then came the final nail. Mumbai Indians just blew away the hapless KKR who were no match for the Mumbai Indians in any department of the game. Agreed that they were a bowler short as Anureet Singh had hurt himself even before he could bowl. But their batting fell apart like seven pins.

So now for me IPL 2 is over because untill there is divine intervention, KKR can never make it to the semifinals. But this doesn't mean that I will support any other team. Who knows I may support KKR in season 3 (provided they improve substantially), but definitely not in the ongoing season.

Now it doesn't matter to me who wins or loses the IPL.

May the most deserving team win.